Introduction
CI/CD has become a standard part of modern development. Whether you are building a small ASP.NET Core API or a large enterprise application, automation helps you ship faster with fewer manual mistakes.
For .NET developers, the two most common CI/CD choices are Azure DevOps Pipelines and GitHub Actions. Both can build, test, publish, and deploy ASP.NET Core applications. But they differ in how they are designed, how they integrate with other tools, and how comfortable they feel for teams.
In this article, I’ll compare Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions from a real ASP.NET Core developer’s point of view, and I’ll show the same CI pipeline example in both.
What is Azure DevOps?
Azure DevOps is Microsoft’s full DevOps platform. It is not only a CI/CD tool. It also provides project management and team collaboration features such as:
Azure Pipelines (CI/CD)
Azure Repos (Git repositories)
Azure Boards (work tracking)
Azure Test Plans (test management)
Azure Artefacts (packages)
The CI/CD part of Azure DevOps is called Azure Pipelines. Azure Pipelines supports both YAML-based pipelines and classic UI-based pipelines. This makes it flexible, especially for enterprise teams that need approvals, environments, and strict governance.
What is GitHub Actions?
GitHub Actions is GitHub’s native automation platform. It allows you to define workflows inside your repository using YAML files. The biggest advantage of GitHub Actions is that everything stays inside GitHub. If your code is already hosted on GitHub, GitHub Actions feels very natural because you don’t need an extra tool.
A GitHub Actions workflow can run automatically when events occur, such as:
Push to a branch
Pull request creation
Tag release
Manual trigger
Difference between Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions
| Feature | Azure DevOps | GitHub Actions |
|---|
| Ease of Setup | Setup is more structured and may feel heavy at first, but it supports complex enterprise workflows. | Very quick to start since workflows live inside the GitHub repository. |
| CI/CD Experience | Strong pipeline + release management, especially for multi-stage deployments and approvals. | Best for simple to medium workflows, with fast YAML-based automation. |
| Integration Strength | Deep integration with Azure services, Azure AD, and Microsoft enterprise tooling. | Best integration with GitHub repos, pull requests, and the GitHub ecosystem. |
| Pipeline Configuration Options | Supports both YAML pipelines and classic UI-based pipelines. | Primarily YAML-based workflows; everything stays inside the repo. |
| Marketplace / Reusability | Azure DevOps Marketplace offers enterprise-focused extensions. | GitHub Marketplace offers thousands of ready-to-use actions and templates. |
| Security & Access Control | Strong enterprise RBAC, Azure AD support, and governance for large organizations. | Strong secrets management and token permissions, but enterprise governance is lighter than Azure DevOps. |
| Self-Hosted Agents / Runners | Excellent support for large-scale self-hosted agents and advanced agent pools. | Supports self-hosted runners, but scaling and management is simpler compared to Azure DevOps. |
| Best Use Case | Large enterprise projects with complex release processes and strong governance requirements. | GitHub-based projects that need fast CI/CD with minimal setup. |
Example: ASP.NET Core CI Pipeline
Let’s take a simple scenario. We have an ASP.NET Core Web API project and we want:
Restore NuGet packages
Build in Release mode
Run tests
Publish build output
This is the most common CI setup for any ASP.NET Core project.
Azure DevOps Pipeline Example (ASP.NET Core)
In Azure DevOps, we create a YAML file called azure-pipelines.yml in the root of the repository.
trigger:
- main
pool:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
variables:
buildConfiguration: 'Release'
steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
inputs:
packageType: 'sdk'
version: '8.x'
displayName: 'Install .NET SDK'
- script: dotnet restore
displayName: 'Restore NuGet packages'
- script: dotnet build --configuration $(buildConfiguration) --no-restore
displayName: 'Build project'
- script: dotnet test --configuration $(buildConfiguration) --no-build --verbosity normal
displayName: 'Run unit tests'
- script: dotnet publish -c $(buildConfiguration) -o $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
displayName: 'Publish output'
- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
inputs:
PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
ArtifactName: 'drop'
displayName: 'Publish build artifacts'
Explanation
This pipeline triggers when code is pushed to the main branch. Azure DevOps uses a hosted agent (ubuntu-latest) to run the pipeline steps.
It installs .NET SDK, restores packages, builds the project, runs tests, and finally publishes the output as a build artifact.
The artifact is useful because it can later be used for deployment pipelines.
GitHub Actions Workflow Example (ASP.NET Core)
In GitHub Actions, workflows are stored inside:
.github/workflows/
Create a file: .github/workflows/dotnet-ci.yml
name: ASP.NET Core CI
on:
push:
branches: [ "main" ]
pull_request:
branches: [ "main" ]
jobs:
build-and-test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Setup .NET SDK
uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
with:
dotnet-version: '8.0.x'
- name: Restore dependencies
run: dotnet restore
- name: Build
run: dotnet build --configuration Release --no-restore
- name: Test
run: dotnet test --configuration Release --no-build --verbosity normal
- name: Publish
run: dotnet publish -c Release -o ./publish
Explanation
This workflow runs when:
GitHub Actions checks out the repository, sets up the .NET SDK, restores packages, builds, runs tests, and publishes output.
Unlike Azure DevOps, we are not uploading artifacts here. But we can easily add artifact upload if needed.
Which One is Easier for ASP.NET Core?
If your project is hosted in GitHub, GitHub Actions feels simpler because:
Azure DevOps is slightly heavier to start, but once configured, it provides more advanced enterprise features.
Azure DevOps Deployment
Azure DevOps provides built-in tasks like AzureWebApp@1, and it works very smoothly with Azure service connections.
GitHub Actions Deployment
GitHub Actions provides official actions like azure/webapps-deploy, and it works using a publish profile or service principal stored in GitHub secrets.
So both platforms can deploy ASP.NET Core easily.
Security and Secrets Handling
In both tools, secrets are stored securely.
Azure DevOps uses variable groups, key vault integration, and pipeline secrets.
GitHub Actions uses GitHub Secrets and environment protection rules.
Both are safe if used correctly.
Final Recommendation (Real World)
In real projects, the choice is usually simple:
If your company is enterprise and already using Azure DevOps for Boards, Repos, and release approvals, then Azure DevOps is the best choice.
If your project is already on GitHub and you want a clean and lightweight CI/CD solution, GitHub Actions is the best choice.
Conclusion
Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions are both excellent CI/CD tools for ASP.NET Core.
Azure DevOps is more suitable for enterprise workflows and complex pipelines.
GitHub Actions is best for teams that want a fast and simple CI/CD experience directly inside GitHub.